An Animated Election

With all of the tight races, gaffe-prone candidates, and inflated military records scattered across the country this election, it can be tough to keep track of the big picture. During the Presidential race, SlateV helped out with its Power Recap series, boiling down the election news, a few weeks at a time, into two-minute segments. There’s no sign of Slate’s rapid narration this year, but, luckily, aid has come from abroad. Next Media Animation, based in Taipai, has delivered a steady stream of videos reënacting (or, more often, reimagining) some of the most bizarre statements and revelations of the midterms. Take a trip down memory lane—in this case, one that cuts through both Sim City and Taiwan—and relive Aqua Buddha, the Paladino/Dicker brawl, and other great moments from this election so far. And to think we still have five days to go!

After you test yourself with our midterm quiz, try decoding this roundup of the most animated characters running for office; subtitle assistance is limited.

In this recap of the tight Senate race in Nevada, Harry Reid’s Latino supporters come tumbling out of the back of a minivan in the parking lot in front of Home Depot, and Sharron (First Asian Legislator) Angle dons a conical straw hat.

Animation is the perfect opportunity to visualize exactly it would look like for Carl Paladino to “take out” Fred Dicker (a bad Western set in a hotel lobby) or for “very extreme-type people in bikini-type outfits” to do “gyrations” (basically what you’d expect, but pastier and with less stylish underwear). Too bad they didn’t better nail “Kooky Carl” ’s signature eye bags.

Surprisingly, the best moment in the sequence about Christine O’Donnell actually comes from the less obviously mockable Mike Castle, who offers a fake-out high five after O’Donnell beats him in the primary.

And look for Evan Osnos, whose 3-D avatar is still under construction, to weigh in soon on what people in mainland China think about the U.S. elections.